Tweet
Terror Charge Dropped For Dink'S Murderer
Hurriyet
Dec 17 2011
Turkey
Ogun Samast, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the murder
was released from the charge of "membership of a terror organization".
An Istanbul court issued a verdict for the release of Ogun Samast,
the hitman who assassinated the Turkish - Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink in 2007, from the charge of "membership in a terror organization"
Dec. 16.
Chief Prosecutor Ali Demir requested Samast's state of arrest be upheld
in light of the quality and nature of the charge, the existence of
strong criminal doubt and current evidence.
The defendant's lawyer Levent Yıldırım, however, requested an end
to his client's continued state of arrest, arguing even if he were
to be convicted of the charge, the resulting sentence would still be
shorter than four years and 11 months; the length of time Samast has
already spent in prison, he said.
The court delegation ruled in the defendant's favor and decided to
release him from the charge of "membership in a terror organization,"
citing a legal amendment regarding children and the amount of time
he had already spent behind bars.
Nevertheless, Samast will continue serving prison time as he has
already been formally convicted of premeditated murder.
Fethiye Cetin, one of the Dink family's lawyers, said they requested
the court take measures to prevent the deletion of phone records
pertaining to the case after a lapse of five years. Upon the Dink
family's lawyers' request, the court had demanded phone records from
the vicinity of the crime scene from the Telecommunications Authority
(TİB), but the TİB had delayed for months before it delivered the
records in question.
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin was shot in front of
his office in January 2007. The killer Ogun Samast was sentenced to
22 years in prison for the murder.
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet
Dec 17 2011
Turkey
Ogun Samast, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the murder
was released from the charge of "membership of a terror organization".
An Istanbul court issued a verdict for the release of Ogun Samast,
the hitman who assassinated the Turkish - Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink in 2007, from the charge of "membership in a terror organization"
Dec. 16.
Chief Prosecutor Ali Demir requested Samast's state of arrest be upheld
in light of the quality and nature of the charge, the existence of
strong criminal doubt and current evidence.
The defendant's lawyer Levent Yıldırım, however, requested an end
to his client's continued state of arrest, arguing even if he were
to be convicted of the charge, the resulting sentence would still be
shorter than four years and 11 months; the length of time Samast has
already spent in prison, he said.
The court delegation ruled in the defendant's favor and decided to
release him from the charge of "membership in a terror organization,"
citing a legal amendment regarding children and the amount of time
he had already spent behind bars.
Nevertheless, Samast will continue serving prison time as he has
already been formally convicted of premeditated murder.
Fethiye Cetin, one of the Dink family's lawyers, said they requested
the court take measures to prevent the deletion of phone records
pertaining to the case after a lapse of five years. Upon the Dink
family's lawyers' request, the court had demanded phone records from
the vicinity of the crime scene from the Telecommunications Authority
(TİB), but the TİB had delayed for months before it delivered the
records in question.
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin was shot in front of
his office in January 2007. The killer Ogun Samast was sentenced to
22 years in prison for the murder.
From: A. Papazian